A demonstration was held in front of the Viking Commons on Monday, Oct. 26, to bring attention to the Real Food Challenge by the Students for Sustainable Food club.
One of the leaders of the Real Food Challenge campaign, Melinda Vickers, said the club chose to be outside the Viking Commons for a reason.
“Western, like many other campuses, has a dining contract with a large, corporate food producer, ours being Aramark,” Vickers said. “Aramark makes a lot of large purchasing decisions, which means that there is not a lot of what we define as real food.”
Real food, Vickers said, is food that is local, sustainable, community-based and ethically grown.
Grant Goheen (left) signs the Real Food Challenge while members of the Students for Sustainable Food club answer questions Monday, Oct. 26, outside Viking Commons. The club hopes to get Bruce Shepard to sign a pledge to purchase 20 percent of the campus' food from local, sustainable and ethically grown sources. // Photo by Caleb Galbreath